EA/Origin Access Members Will Get to Play Mass Effect: Andromeda Early

This year’s highly anticipated release of Mass Effect: Andromeda has everyone jumping with excitement. If you’re one of those who can’t quite wait for the official release date, there’s a way for you to play the game a bit early.

Taking to Twitter over the weekend, producer Michael Gamble revealed that Mass Effect: Andromeda is coming to EA Access. Subscribers to the service will get to play the game prior to its official launch for a “limited time period”. Later, he also confirmed that Origin Access members will too get to try out the limited early-access period.

EA Access is only available on Xbox One while Origin Access is on PC. They are similar services where members paying a small fee to get unlimited access to games stored in the Vault. Additionally, there’s the incentive for members to get early-access to upcoming games.

The trial period is usually in the form of 10 hours and commences less than a week prior to the official launch. An upcoming announcement will confirm just how much content players will get access to in the trial period. Battlefield 1, for example, featured a limited selection of maps and modes, eight days before launch.

In other news, BioWare announced that Mass Effect: Andromeda will release without any Season Pass. It’s possible that BioWare is going with a microtransaction model for its multiplayer module. If that’s the case, majority of items will be available through in-game currency but players will have the option of paying real-world money beforehand to instantly unlock the items for use. As for single-player DLC, that will be released for free.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is set for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 21 in North America and March 23 in Europe.